Could Glassdoor’s CEO approval ratings be an indicator of CEO job security? Magic eight ball says: Signs point to yes – but only time will truly tell. No matter what analogy you use, Glassdoor shows promise as an indicator for CEO longevity based on employee approval ratings.
Case in point: AMD and Alcatel Lucent. The recently ousted CEOs of these companies had a significantly low approval rating. Pat Russo, former Alcatel Lucent CEO held an approval rating of just 5% and Hector Ruiz, former AMD CEO held an approval rating of 8%.
Alcatel Lucent employees stated:
- “A once-great company surrounded by the smell of death”
- “The future will be ripe with opportunity, all that’s missing is leadership.”
- “Poor management makes this a place to avoid.”
And AMD employees under Ruiz commented:
- “Fire Hector or at least make him take a salary cut.”
- “Hire new senior management.”
- “Stop committing company suicide”
So who’s next? Perhaps the top 10 CEOs with lowest approval ratings (based on 50 reviews or more) could be the next on the chopping block.
CEOs with lowest approval ratings:
| 1 | Anthony LaFetra, RainBird | 20% |
| 2 | Kerry K. Killinger, Washington Mutual | 27% |
| 3 | Greg Brown, Motorola | 33% |
| 4 | Ron Rittenmeyer, EDS | 38% |
| 5 | Randy Falco, AOL | 38% |
| 6 | Jerry Yang, Yahoo! | 59% |
| 7 | Jonathan I. Schwartz, Sun Microsystems | 60% |
| 8 | Mark V. Hurd, Hewlett-Packard | 65% |
| 9 | John W. Thompson, Symantec | 65% |
| 10 | H. Lee Scott Jr., Wal-Mart | 66% |
We can’t say it would be surprising to see these individuals leave the companies listed above when the advice from employees to management ranges from “You can only sell your soul and protect your ass for so long” to “Become true leaders and know what you are about, rather than just wear the mantle of a tyrant.”
Watch and find out…
